Dobbs was educated at
Winchester College and
Brasenose College, Oxford. He joined the
Indian Civil Service in 1892, and in 1903 he was sent to repair boundary pillars erected by the
Afghan Boundary Commission along the Russo-Afghan border. After several other posts, he served as the Chief Commissioner of
Balochistan 1917–1919. Dobbs was the British Representative on the Kabul Mission in January 1921, during which he met with Afghan Foreign Minister
Mahmud Tarzi to discuss Anglo-Afghan relations. The result was the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 22 November 1921, which confirmed the
Indo-Afghan border, established diplomatic ties between
London and
Kabul, and defined special trade agreements. He later served as
High Commissioner to the
Kingdom of Iraq from 1923 to 1929, the longest time this position was held by anyone during the course of the Iraq Mandate. ==Honours==